Starting the Fire
by Avanell
Summary: The war is over and Hermione is not having a lovely birthday...yet.


_This story was written a few months ago and was originally intended for a challenge on another site. However, I didn't make the deadline and wasn't supposed to write any romance. I also couldn't decide on the title – one of the other frontrunners was a Godric Hollow's Affair. However, I did meet all of the other requirements, choosing Hermione's birthday, Neville as a secondary focus person, Godric's Hollow, and _incendio_ as a spell. Am I leaving anything out? Well, anyway, I kept the story alive for the wonderful readers of this site. Enjoy! _

**Starting the Fire**

_I can not understand how they do it. How can they sit there laughing, playing exploding snap and those other barbaric wizard games._

_Hmph. How about a witch's game._

_How about the fact that it's my birthday yet you don't see _me _celebrating._

Harry, Hermione and Ron were all at Godric's Hollow celebrating after a year of fighting. Luna, Neville, and a few other students from the trio's class at Hogwarts were there. The Weasley family were all in attendance, except for Bill who was spending time with Fleur. She had been gravely injured in the final battle.

The war was over. Harry had killed Voldemort mere days before. Of course, there had been a lot of clean up. The injured had to be been taken care of first. The dead were counted next and their bodies released to their families. Those unrecognizable were going to be given a final resting spot where Voldemort had been killed, a special memorial for the unnamed was already in the works.

_It is almost as if it…the war…never happened. Was it really just a week ago when Harry, Ron and I apparated to the Order to tell them it was time? Ron held my hand as Professor Lupin reminded us of the plan and instructed us on changes…_

Hermione looked over to the table where Ron was now engaged in a chess game with Dean while Seamus looked on. Parvati was now approaching them.

_How can she be so calm? Her twin just died. Yet she's here with a smile on her face. Wait…what is she doing?_ Hermione frowned as the girl gently laid her hand on Ron's shoulder as he captured one of Dean's knights. She laughed at something Ron said then sat beside Seamus.

_Of course Parvati wasn't flirting with Ron – she's been like this with everyone. Perhaps she is reminding herself that we're all here...we survived._

Hermione then looked over to where Harry was enjoying a shot of firewhiskey with the twins. He looked happy. Ginny was talking with her mother as they laid out fresh goodies. Mr. Weasley was enjoying a conversation with Remus and Tonks, who had just earlier announced their engagement. There had been a toast, but no one seemed to remember that it was also Hermione's birthday.

_Merlin, is Mrs. Weasley drunk? _Hermione thought as the matriarch dropped a bowl of pudding on the floor. The woman laughed, then charmed the mess away. _I can't take anymore of this._

Hermione walked over to one of the tables and poured herself a goblet of elven wine. The goblets, she knew, were charmed to refill themselves. She didn't understand why everyone else was drinking the foul firewhiskey, but she wasn't prudish enough to deprive herself of enjoying a sip or two of wine. It had been a hard year indeed.

_I can not believe it is finally over, _Hermione mused, then made a silent toast to the victory. _We were lucky. Not many people were killed, and a good number of Deatheaters are now in Azkaban rather than escaping their punishment by death. And who would have known Draco was part of Professor Snape and Dumbledore's plan to sacrifice the Headmaster in a plot that led to our victory._

Hermione took a sip from her glass. Her right hand shook as she did. It was one of several injuries she had received during the past year and it was only now beginning to heal. Her left leg had nearly broken in a cave where the trio found the last Horcrux. _I was lucky we found Tonks who brought us to the Order's healer…_There was also a new scar along her lower torso, where Lucius Malfoy had slashed her with a dagger after she obliterated his wand.

Of course, Ron and Harry had their share of injuries, too. Ron's right arm had been shattered but was now reset. However, his dreams of becoming an auror or quidditch player had been taken away by this. He had also received a nasty spell that sent him to nearly kill Hermione. Luckily, Harry was nearby and immobilized Ron in time. And during the final battle, Hermione had saved him from Lucius Malfoy. Ron, in turn, had saved Ginny from a nasty curse cast by Bellatrix Lestrange.

And then there was Harry. But his injuries were nothing compared to the mental anguish he experienced. The final battle, not to mention searching for and destroying the Horcrux, had nearly taken everthing out of the young man. Voldemort had taunted Harry in their final stand-off. Voldemort's final words caused Harry to finally snap. The energy of magic he emitted on his enemy had been bloody fantastic, and the Dark Lord had disintegrated into ash.

Hermione snapped out of her memory as she heard the twin's laughter from the other side of the room.

_I just can't do it…I can not celebrate,_ Hermione thought as she opened the front door to Harry's true home and walked outside. She knew the place well enough to travel with only the moonlight to guide her. She walked the cobblestone path over to the backyard fire pit and sat on one of the logs. It was her favorite place to sit and think.

Hermione stood up after a few minutes, placing her glass carefully down on the ground and went in search of some logs. She put them over the fire pit, along with a few handfuls of twigs and then tried to think how to set it afire. She had no lighter, no matches. Hermione rolled her eyes and then took out her wand.

"_Incendio_!"

A burst of flame shot out from her wand and a fire instantly started. She went back to sit down, picking up her drink as she did.

"I was wondering when you might remember to use your wand." A voice said from the shadows.

"Neville, what are you doing out here?" She asked her former classmate. She last spotted him talking to Luna and Parvati, before Parvati went to watch the chess game.

He drew closer and then went to sit beside her.

"I guess I am more like you."

Hermione sighed. "You don't feel like celebrating either."

"No, I guess I don't. There's so much more to do…"

The two sat in silence for awhile as they watched the fire.

"What was it like…back at Hogwarts?" She asked him. There had been no time to find out before; once the Horcrux were all finally destroyed the final battle had come so quickly there had been no time for catching up.

"It wasn't the same, of course. We all missed you, Harry, and Ron."

Hermione felt something cold run through her body. "Everyone?"

Neville nodded. "We realized…well, we knew before how serious things were. Fifth and sixth year taught us more than that. But most of us returned, and when we realized you three weren't coming at all we knew. Ginny knew more, but we never asked her about it. We just knew we had to get ready."

"You formed Dumbledore's Army again, didn't you?"

"Something like that."

"Who was in charge?"

Neville blushed, not that Hermione could see as she was staring at the fire.

"Just a few of us, I suppose. Ginny, myself, well, I guess I sort of did most. Ginny was distracted a lot."

"It makes sense." Hermione muttered thoughtfully.

"You mean Ginny? About Harry?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, you taking the lead for us."

"But I…"

"You were always strong, Neville, you just didn't know how much. You didn't know you could do it. But you showed us…like back in first year when you tried to stop us that night. And then during the final battle…I saw what you did."

Neville didn't know what to say. A silence came upon the two as they continued to watch the flames of the fire together. A spark came out, which Neville put out with his shoe.

He looked over at Hermione. Her face was solemn, but her hair looked as if it embraced the fiery glow. She was beautiful, but didn't know it; just like he didn't know he could be a strong leader.

"Ron's over it…the incident, you know." He said breaking the silence. Harry had told him about what happened…the spell that caused Ron to nearly kill Hermione.

"I never…"

"Of course you didn't blame him. But that didn't stop _him_ from blaming himself."

"I forgave him…needlessly, since it wasn't his fault."

Neville sighed. The ease that she learned everything else seemed to leave nothing for her ability to see her own worth or how others saw her. "That doesn't mean he forgave himself. Hermione, you must know how much you mean to him."

"I'm not sure of that anymore." She said carefully. "I mean…I know he's my best friend, as is Harry. I just thought…"

"You thought he might fancy you." Neville paused for a moment. "You were wrong."

Hermione felt a tear coming out, and then as it fell down her face.

Neville scooted closer to her. "Hermione, it's more than that. He _loves_ you. He's _in love_ with you."

Hermione looked up at Neville, who then gently wrapped one of his arms around her. She closed her eyes and sought comfort in his shoulder. This was not the same Neville she grew up with. This was Neville the man. He was now nearly as tall as Harry, still a bit overweight, but most of that was now muscle.

"Hermione, I came out here for another reason."

Hermione looked up at him.

"I…I came for Lavender."

Hermione drew apart fro him. "Lavender? What does _she_ have to do with this?" She asked sharply.

Neville winced. Hermione didn't know how close he had gotten to Lavender after sixth year. With the trio gone, the Gryffindor seventh years had bonded as they prepared themselves for the final battle. They had no idea where Hermione, Harry, and Ron had gone, nor what they were up to. As they reformed Dumbledore's Army, now the Hogwart's Alliance, Neville had found how much of a leader he truly was.

"Well, you see…she and I have been, er, friends…it happened last year. She was really scared and I found her sitting in the common room one night alone, well after midnight."

"What were _you_ doing up?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Well, I had been up late going over a new Herbology book, and realized I had left my notebook down there. I went to get it. I found her crying in one of the chairs. We ended up talking that night; it became like a ritual. Every Friday night we would meet, have some tea or cocoa, and just…talk."

"What did you talk about? I mean, if you can tell me."

"Well, we talked about you…and Ron."

"Oh." Hermione gulped, suddenly sorry she had asked.

"I guess you can say we mended our hearts together. You may not know this, Hermione. But I have always cared about you. More than just a crush, but I have always known where your heart belongs. And Lavender, well, she had liked Ron since the end of fourth year. She really thought she was in love with him. It took a while, but she finally realized the reason Ron went out with her. The only thing he ever wanted was…"

"Neville, I really don't want…"

"You."

"Me?"

"He wanted you to notice him, Hermione. He thought…well, I don't know what he really thought, but he I suppose at the time he never thought he could have you. Lavender said the only real time he kissed her was when you were around. That's when she started to realize, but didn't want to so she kept going out with him. Even if he ignored her whenever you weren't around, or could possibly show up."

Hermione suddenly realized the heartache Lavender had experienced. She felt a little guilty. Well, not too much, but the feeling was there. And then she remembered where Lavender was at that exact moment – in St. Mungos. She was one of the many seriously injured during the final battle.

"We kinda…well," Neville continued, "We're kind of seeing each other. I think we have a real chance Hermione, we're just taking it real slow."

Hermione nodded. Just then Harry came from around the house. "Hey, Nev!" He called out. "Everyone's going for a drink at the pub. First round is on me. You in?"

"Yeah, sure Harry." Neville called back. "You coming, Hermione?"

Hermione felt a tear start to form. "No, Neville. You go along. I'll be fine, really."

The young man nodded, then went to meet the others. Hermione could hear voices from the front of the house. She could even hear Mrs. Weasley laughing at something someone said, likely the twins.

No one seemed too concerned that she was not joining them.

After a series of cracks from everyone disapparating, Hermione realized she was alone.

_I'm all alone_, She whispered to herself.

_Could Ron possibly be in love with me, like Nevile said?…No…I can't possibly get my hopes up. Ron cares about our friendship too much to risk it._

Ten minutes later, and a handful of solemn tears later, Hermione decided to head back inside. She quickly doused the fire with a quick spell. Being the muggle and avid camper that she was she still checked to make sure no flames or sparks had been left in the small firepit. The ashes were cold.

_Just like…_She wiped another tear then went inside.

* * *

For as long as she would live Hermione would never forget the moment she stepped back inside.

Most of the candles that had lit the room up in light of the festivities had been doused. The few still lit cast a soft glow around the room.

The mess from the party was gone. The table of food, the bottles of wine and butterbeer, the jugs of firewhiskey, they were all gone.

The huge center table had been transfigured to a smaller one, just large enough for the two chairs that were placed beside it. A beautiful tablecloth had replaced the one charmed with notations of celebration, such as "Ding Dong, Voldie's Gone" (courtesy of the twins), and on the centerpiece was a cake with plenty of candles on it. Without mentally guessing how many candles were on the cake, Hermione knew the number.

"Happy birthday, Hermione." A soft voice said from the shadows.

Ron emerged from where he had been watching her reaction carefully. It tore his heart out to see that she had been crying, but he had been planning this since the final battle when he had realized how close Voldemort's demise had been to Hermione's birthday.

Hermione looked at him. His casual attire had been replaced by new dress robes. His hair had been combed and he showed no evidence that he had been drinking plenty just a short time before. Little did Hermione know, he actually only had one glass of wine. And that was to calm his nerves.

_He looks so…dashing_, Hermione thought to herself.

"Ron, what is this? I thought…"

He gave her that crooked smile, the one that caused her to melt every time he gave it to her.

"I wanted to surprise you. The rest, the party, it was just a ruse…sort of."

"Then everyone…"

"Everyone knew I wanted…Hermione, I…" He looked down to what was in his hands. For the first time Hermione noticed he held a small box. It was wrapped in gold paper with a red ribbon tied around it. "I…happy birthday, Hermione. This is for you." He walked up to her and held over the gift.

"But I think you best blow out your candles first. The charm I put on them only lasts five minutes." He rambled, "I was kind of in a hurry."

Hermione took the package and smiled at him. She walked over to the table and leaned over the candles as Ron joined her and carefully put his arm around her slender waist.

She smiled back at Ron before she leaned over to blow out the candles with one blow. Ron smiled at her and gave her a little squeeze.

"Well, are you going to open it?" He asked gesturing to the wrapped box which was still in her hands.

The two sat down as Hermione carefully unwrapped the box. Ron watched eagerly awaiting her reaction to what was inside.

Hermione gasped as she finally opened the box. Inside lay a necklace; a gold chain with a pendent. The birthday girl picked it carefully in her small hands to get a closer look. It was a wizard's gold heart pendent, with two stones. Two birthstones; an aquamarine for Ron's, and a sapphire for Hermione's. Never had she thought the two stones went well together, but on the layout of the pendent, it was perfectly perfect.

"Read the back." Ron dared to whisper.

She turned the pendent over. Scripted on the back was "My Hero…My Heart" Hermione was near tears; but these were now happy tears.

"Oh, Ron! It's…it's beautiful!" She said as she threw her arms around him.

"Hermione," He said softly into her ear, "I love you. I don't know if you feel…"

"I love you, too, Ron." She said bringing her head against his.

Ron gently caressed his hand along her jawline. "I love you." He repeated, then brought his lips to hers in a slow, lingering kiss. "You've always had my heart, and you always will."

Hermione suddenly giggled.

"What?" Ron asked, slightly put back.

"I was just thinking how happy I was you actually were able to rid of everyone else."

"Yeah, Harry's going to make sure they don't come back, either. I just wanted to spend the evening with you…my girl."

"Your heart."

"Yeah."

After sharing a bit of cake and a glass of muggle wine, the two ended their night by going upstairs, their hands held securely together. When they approached Ron's bedroom they went inside.

And that is where I leave you readers, it is up to you and your imaginations how the scene plays out. Whether they simply held each other all night, or more, is your own story.


End file.
